What He Taught Him
by Alice Brennan
Summary: Life is too short to wait. Warning: character death.


A/N: Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Prompt: Hey Beautiful - The Solids. Word count: 1148

Beta'd by the Wigtown Wanderers!

It was in those final moments with his wife that everything had become so very clear to Draco. He had loved Astoria more than anyone else he'd ever known. He'd thought, briefly, that if he just loved her strongly enough, held her tightly enough, he could save her from the blood curse she carried. That he could keep her safe forever. As he watched her withering away in that bed at St. Mungo's the truth hit him like a ton of bricks. It stole the words from his tongue, the breath from his chest, and the warmth from his veins. Somehow, he knew he would never be warm again or whole again. This was his punishment for that blasted mark on his forearm. For all the damage he had done, all the damage he had meant to do, and all the lives he had cost. This was the price he was forced to pay. He had evaded Azkaban, but that didn't mean he was worthy of Astoria's love. His story would still be one of woe. A story of loving someone with his whole heart and losing everything because of one stupid, terrible mistake. It was exactly as Severus had warned him it would be. He would spend the rest of his life trying to make up for it, waiting for the day when he would be worthy of holding her again.

* * *

"He thought he deserved a life alone, a life waiting for his punishment to end so that he could be with my mum again." Scorpius said, staring down at his father's coffin rather than the crowd huddled around it. He brushed tears from his eyes and tried to ignore the pitying looks he got for it. He was a Slytherin, like his dad. Slytherins didn't handle pity well. He owed this moment to his dad. It was one last goodbye, just a moment to tell him that he understood why he had been so distant these last few years. "He always tried so hard to protect me from this reputation that developed in his childhood. It haunted him. No matter how many good things my dad did, he never thought it was enough to make up for the mistakes he made when he was a kid. I saw who my dad really was, though. He was the wizard who always gave the last of his pocket change to the homeless man on the street corner. He was the man who skipped days of work just to teach me how to play Quidditch, and he was the man who worked his arse off to make sure I had everything I could possibly need to live a better life than he did. Draco was the wizard who loved my mom and kept loving her long after she was gone. He waited for the end, hoping against hope that he would finally find peace and forgiveness there."

Scorpius had to stop to wipe tears from his eyes again. "I know if he was here right now, if there was one last thing he wanted for all of us, it's this. I hope...I hope you never know what it's like to wait."

Scorpius stepped back from the podium. He could feel everyone's eyes watching him as he tried to disappear into the crowd. He clenched his fists and ignored their gazes. Still, they watched him. They watched him as he moved to stand next to the famous Harry Potter, who graciously took him in after his father had passed away. They watched as the famous Harry Potter rested his hand on Scorpius's shoulder. Scorpius shrugged him off. They all thought he was a charity case now, just because he had lost both of his parents. That wasn't true. He didn't need them. He didn't need anyone.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked gently from the other side of Harry.

Scorpius couldn't it take any more. He took off running across the cemetery. They were all stupid and useless. Where were they when his dad had been alive? If they had really cared, why was his dad always alone after his mother had died?

"Scorpius!" He could hear Rose calling after him. He could also hear the whispers from the crowd as they watched him run. He ran until he couldn't run anymore. He ran until a cramp began in his side and the tears blinded him. Scorpius slid down next to one of the many trees that shaded the cemetery.

A moment later, Rose fell to her knees next to him. They were well away from his father's funeral now. He couldn't even see them. He didn't want to. The last thing he wanted was to watch them lower his father's body into the cold ground and leave it there.

"What do you want?" He snapped, glaring at Rose. "I'm not going back."

"We don't have to," Rose answered, still catching her breath. "We can stay gone for as long as you need."

She hesitated, nervously taking his hand and wrapping her fingers around his. Scorpius almost pulled away, but there was something in her eyes that stopped him. Something that wasn't pitying like the others. "We can go wherever you want. Just don't walk away from me."

Scorpius nodded and a look of relief swept over her. He tightened his grip on her hand and Rose settled down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

She stayed with him like that, in a comfortable silence, until the sun began to set and Harry came looking for them. She was by his side when he went back to the grave to say goodbye to his dad one last time, and she was by his side when he walked back into Hogwarts to face the whispers and taunts about the 'newly orphaned kid'.

Years later, Scorpius's chest still filled with pride every time he thought about Draco. Draco had never forgiven himself for what had happened during the war. He'd even thought his inability to save Astoria had been a punishment for his actions. That wasn't what Scorpius remembered best about his dad, though. Before his dad died, he'd told him there would be a day, sometime in the future, when he would finally meet the one person he could never walk away from, someone who would never walk away from him. He'd made Scorpius promise that, when he finally found her, he wouldn't wait. Life was too short to waste on waiting. Draco's photo smiled proudly at him from the front of the garden as Scorpius watched Rose walk down the aisle. If Draco had taught him anything, it wasn't pain or regret or even that every action had a consequence. Draco had taught him how to love, and in his heart, Scorpius knew that he would love Rose every bit as much as Draco had loved Astoria.


End file.
